The use of waterjetting to cut through materials, and to remove materials from other materials is well known. For instance see U.S. Pat. No. 8,540,552 to Reukers; U.S. Pat. No. 8,892,236 to Olsen; U.S. Pat. No. 9,003,936 to Chillman et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,039 to Hilaris; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,936 to Ruhle; U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,432 to Wyatt et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,329 to Yie; U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,214 to Stewart et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,571,665 to Julien and U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,857 to Adkins. Patents to Kelson, U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,168,634 and 8,007,563 are also very relevant. The 634 patent being to a method of removing insulation from tangles of wires or the like, and the 563 patent being to a method of removing jacket and wire coating materials from cables comprising a plurality of coated wires.
Even in view of the known prior art, however, need remains for a method that efficiently can reclaim metal from insulated and/or shielded and/or jacketed cables that had been applied to carry power before their retirement.